The Story of New Zealand's Internet

A Wellington woman was preparing a flounder. She had cut off the head and was slicing along the backbone with a sharp knife on a wooden cutting board. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a flash of light!

Transcription

Colin Jackson – Independent Technology Consultant, IT.GEN.NZ

“The first time I saw the Internet was in 1990 and what I had actually seen was what we now call Usenet. I was a technician, a programmer, a project leader type of person at the time and I saw this thing. One of the young programmers showed it to me and I just realised how amazingly cool that could be. I remember going home to my wife and saying that I had just seen the future. Pretty much from then on, I worked towards it. In 1993, the New Zealand Government advertised for a policy position. They wanted somebody who was an IT person, probably in the private sector, to come in and do policy for them on what they should do about the Internet. So I got that job and I became the New Zealand Government’s first specialist Internet policy advisor.”

Down to the Wire is a project by Wellington digital agency Heyday. On our 10th anniversary we wanted say thanks to the those who created and curated the New Zealand Internet over the past 21 years. Without their expertise, dedication and excitement our company, and the country as a whole, would be quite different and nowhere near as wonderful. Visit the Heyday website »